Closure



Nov. 16, 1965 E. WEYGANDT CLOSURE Filed April 22, 1964 INVENTOR Jaw/Z4;

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,217,915 CLOSURE Merle E. Weygandt, 2700 Lullington Drive, Winston-Salem, N.C. Filed Apr. 22, 1964, Ser. No. 361,717 1 Claim. (Cl. 215-10) This invention relates to a combination container and closure member and relates more particularly to containers suitable for stacking having nestable portions.

Containers for milk are generally produced from glass or plastic-coated paper cartons. Neither container lends itself readily to stacking during refrigeration or for delivery. Furthermore, present closure members for glass bottles and the sealing member for fluid-containing cartons are unsatisfactory where the container must be resealed or recapped several times before the container contents are exhausted.

Therefore, it is an objective of this invention to provide a modular container, preferably of plastic such as polyethylene, in which several members may be stacked vertically to consume a minimum volume.

Another objective of this invention is to provide an unbreakable container having a sealable closure member that is reusable and will support a cooperating container member thereon.

Yet another objective of this invention is the provision of a container having a sanitary closure member that is reusable and one that will readily cooperate with a recessed base of a cooperating container for stacking.

Other objectives and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent to those in the container art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view, with portions removed, of stacked containers embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded front elevational view of a container embodying this invention with the central portion of the container removed, the closure member removed and being shown in transverse section, and with portions of the container at the top and bottom removed;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the container of FIGS. 1 and 2 with the closure member removed therefrom;

FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the top closure member; and

FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of a container.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, there is illustrated an upper container and a lower container 11 stacked vertically about a common vertical axis with each of the containers having a body portion 12 that presents a square cross-sectional area and presents rectangular sides. The bottom portion 13 of each container is provided with a circular recess 14 for cooperatively receiving therein a top closure member 15 from a cooperating container.

The recess or top member receiving cavity for each container is provided with an inner wall 16, a base 17 and a recessed bottom wall 18.

The top portion 19 of the container is stepped inwardly from the sidewalls from which the flanged opening 20 is supported. An interrupted thread 21 circumvents the flanged opening 20 for releasably receiving a top closure member thereon. The flanged opening 20 is provided with an inner rim 22 for cooperatively receiving in sealing engagement the closure cap 23 from which the inner annular ring 24 projects for slidable insertion into the flanged opening 20 engaging with the rim 22.

The top closure member 23 has a flat circular surface from which the outer rim 25 extends as a circular perimeter provided with a thread engaging and securing projection 26 for releasably and threadably engaging with the thread 21 on the flanged opening 20. The inner ring 24 is concentric with the outer ring 25 forming therebetween a flanged opening receiving cavity 27.

As will be noted in FIG. 4, the lugs 26 are circumferentially spaced about the outer ring 25 and positioned at the lower terminal portion of the ring 25.

The diameter of the closure member 23 is less than the diameter of the recess 14 in the base of the container permitting the closure member 23 to be cooperatively re ceived within the recess 14 so that one container member may be nested or stacked vertically on another container member with the closure member being supported within the cavity or recess 14.

It is preferred that the container be integrally formed or molded of polyethylene or other suitable flexible plastic material that may be readily cleansed and subjected to moderately high temperatures for sterilization without deformation. Similarly, the closure member may be molded of polyethylene or other suitable plastic that is not readily deformed at elevated temperatures.

Many modifications and Variations may be made to the configuration of the container and the closure member without departing from the true spirit and purpose of this invention Within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A container of polyethylene having hollow body, top and bottom portions, said top portion having an opening with an enscribing flange, said flange having a top-securing means thereon, a top closure member having radially spaced-apart inner and outer concentric rings forming a flange-receiving annular chamber therebetween, said outer ring having circumferentially spaced lugs for releasable engagement with said top securing means, and said inner ring being slidably insertable into said flange top opening and has an axial length greater than said outer ring.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,631,747 3/ 1953 Stolte 2115- 3,080,991 3/1963 Fox 21543 3,090,518 5/ 1963 Norway 21543 FOREIGN PATENTS 481,787 3/1938 Great Britain.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Examiner. 

